EKT104

ANALOG ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS 1

FET Frequency Response

 FET Amplifier Low-Frequency Response

At low frequencies, the

reactances of the coupling
capacitors (CG, CC) and the
bypass capacitor (CS) affect the
circuit impedances.
 Coupling Capacitor (CG)

The cutoff frequency due to CG can be calculated with

1
f LC
2π (Rsig  Ri )CG

where

Ri  RG
 Coupling Capacitor (CC)
The cutoff frequency due to CC can be calculated with

1
fLC 
2π (R o R L )CC

where

Ro  RD ||rd
 Bypass Capacitor (CS)
The cutoff frequency due to CS can be calculated with

1
fLS 
2πReqCS

where
1
Req  RS || rd  Ω
gm
 FET Amplifier Low-Frequency Response
The Bode plot indicates that
each capacitor may have a
different cutoff frequency.

The capacitor that has the

highest lower cutoff
frequency (fL) is closest to the
actual cutoff frequency of the
amplifier.
 Miller Capacitance

Any p-n junction can develop capacitance. This capacitance becomes

noticeable across:
• The BJT base-collector junction in a common-emitter amplifier
operating at high frequencies
• The FET gate-drain junction in a common-source amplifier at high
frequencies

These capacitances are represented as separate input and output

capacitances, called the Miller capacitances.
 Miller Input Capacitance (CMi)

CMi  (1 Av )Cf

Note that the amount of Miller

capacitance is dependent on
inter-electrode capacitance
from input to output (Cf) and
the gain (Av).
 Miller Output Capacitance (CMO)

If the gain (Av) is considerably

greater than 1, then

CMO  C f
 FET Amplifier High-Frequency Response

Capacitances that affect the high-frequency response:

Junction capacitances
Cgs, Cgd, Cds
Wiring capacitances
Cwi, Cwo
Coupling capacitors
CG, CC
Bypass capacitor
CS
 Input High-Frequency Cutoff (fHi)

1
fHi 
2πRThi Ci

where

Ci  CWi  Cgs  CMi

CMi  (1  Av )Cgd

RThi  Rsig||RG
 Output High-Frequency Cutoff (fHo)

1
fHo 
2πRTho Co

Co  CWo  Cds  CMo

 1
CMo  1  Cgd
 Av 

RTho  RD||RL||rd
 Multistage Frequency Effects

Each stage has its own frequency response, but the output
of each stage is affected by capacitances in the subsequent
stage. For example, the output capacitance (Co) is affected
by the input Miller Capacitance (CMi) of the next stage.
 Multistage Amplifier Response

Once the cutoff frequencies have been determined for each stage
(taking into account the shared capacitances), they can be plotted.
Note the highest lower cutoff frequency (fL) and the lowest upper cutoff
frequency (fH) are closest to the actual response of the amplifier.
 Square Wave Testing

In order to determine the frequency

response of an amplifier by
experimentation, you must apply a wide
range of frequencies to the amplifier.

One way to accomplish this is to apply a

square wave. A square wave consists of
multiple frequencies (by Fourier
analysis: it consists of odd harmonics).
 Square Wave Response Waveforms

If the output of the

amplifier is not a perfect
square wave then the
amplifier is ‘cutting’ off
certain frequency
components of the
square wave.
Exercise: Low-Frequency Response
Exercise: High-Frequency Response